Walker cruises to victory at Valero Texas Open

Future 54-hole leaders, rejoice. The curse is over. With a 2-under 70 Sunday, Jimmy Walkercruised to a four-shot victory at the Valero Texas Open. Here’s what went down at TPC San Antonio, just 27 miles from Walker's home course:

What it means: The win is the fifth of Walker’s career and his second this year. To shed some light on just how quickly he’s gone from journeyman to a star, the 36-year-old went 187 starts dating back to 2001 without a PGA Tour victory, earning a combined $7.3 million. But since October of 2013, Walker has won five of 37 events and $10.4 million. Along with the wins and money and fame comes the corresponding rise up the Official World Golf Ranking, where Walker, as a result of his win in Texas, cracks the top 10 for the first time in his career. The victory also keeps him atop the FedEx Cup standings, where he has held down the top spot in 46 of the last 60 weeks. Finally, Walker’s win breaks two streaks on Tour. First, he halts a run of 19 different winners this season, becoming the first player to claim his second victory. Second, he becomes the first 54-hole leader in the last 10 tournaments to actually win on Sunday.

Best of the rest: Spieth matched Walker step for step Sunday, but never posed any real threat. He started the day four back of the lead and never got any closer. Nonetheless, he posted his 22nd top-10 on Tour in three seasons and his sixth second-place finish.

Biggest disappointment: At No. 53 in the world and without a Masters invite, Harris English was hoping a solid outing this week would sneak him into the OWGR top 50 and into the field at Augusta National. But a T-29 finish at 4 over left him on the wrong side of the Masters bubble.

Round of the day: Dustin Johnson, Ryan Palmer, Kyle Reifers and John Peterson all posted rounds of 4-under 68, which advanced them all into the top-10.

Shot of the day: Peterson hit a near-perfect tee shot into the 231-yard, par-3 13th Sunday and looked like he was about to make an ace. Instead the ball hit the pin, spun around the hole and stayed out.

Quote of the day: "You know it's at home and it's cool and you can feel the support and the love from friends and family and fans. It's cool. It just doesn't happen very often, winning in your hometown, I think." - Walker